The Evolution of the Apple iPhone

The much-anticipated original iPhone was announced at MacWorld in January 2007, but did not go on sale until six months later.

In that marketplace full touchscreen phones were still a rarity, but the iPhone boasted slim 11.6mm dimensions, a 3.5-inch, 480 x 320 multi-touch display, an accelerometer, 4GB or 8GB of storage, free push email from Yahoo, visual voicemail, Bluetooth and automatic Wi-Fi connectivity.

Among its most disappointing specs were the quad-band GSM radio with EDGE (most smartphones of the time were 3G) and the 2-megapixel camera (5-megapixels were becoming the norm for higher-end handsets).

However, consumers were impressed with the device's built-in software capabilities.

The first-gen handset offered Google Maps, iTunes with CoverFlow, a full-fat Safari browser and something Apple called "widgets," at the time of launch, Weather and Stocks.

Nearer to the device's June debut, Apple announced the iPhone would ship with "a new Apple-designed application" to "wirelessly stream YouTube's content."

It's worth noting that third-party software was entirely absent from the iPhone's launch.

It wasn't until March 2008 that an SDK was released for a limited number of developers who signed up to the developer program, although iPhone owners wouldn't get their hands on "apps" until the release of the iPhone OS 2.0 later that year.

2. The Apple iPhone 3G

Just a year after the original iPhone went on sale, Apple announced the launch of an improved model: the iPhone 3G.

As the name would suggest, the handset upgraded from 2.5G to 3G, boasted a sleeker design with an improved headphone jack, A-GPS, enterprise support, better battery life and, with the launch of the 2.0 version of the OS, support for third-party apps.

Apple got price-aggressive with its second-gen handset. It started at just $199, a bargain compared to the original's $499 price tag.

The iPhone 3G was released in July 2008 along with the 2.0 firmware update, which introduced the App Store to both first- and second-gen iPhone owners.

A year later, the iPhone got its biggest revamp yet with the introduction of the fourth-gen model, the aptly named iPhone 4.

With a complete redesign, including a glossy glass finish, a stainless steel band, a higher resolution Retina display and availability in black or white, the phone's new look made upgrading an attractive proposition.

The changes weren't all cosmetic, of course — the 4 boasted a considerable amount of new features.

The new A4 processor (same as the iPad), a front-facing camera for FaceTime video calls, a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash capable of recording 720p video, a new gyroscope, better Wi-Fi and improved battery life were all notable improvements.

On the software side, iOS 4 introduced iBooks, multi-tasking, spell check and the ability to organize apps into folders.

Consumers upgraded in droves (just three days after the iPhone 4's June 24 launch, Apple announced it had sold over 1.7 million units) and that's when the trouble started.

Reports hit the antenna's design (part of the handset's stainless steel band) prompted dropped calls and reception issues. Apple issued a letter explaining the problems (the infamous "you're holding it wrong" excuse) in early July and pushed out a software fix. But "Antennagate" wouldn't go away — two weeks later, Apple called a press conference and announced free cases for all iPhone 4 users.

That wasn't the end of the iPhone 4's woes, though. The much-anticipated white version failed to materialize.

Apple released several statements about the white version, describing it as "more challenging to manufacture than originally expected."

The seventh generation of the iPhone came in two models -- the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C (see below).

Apple's iPhone 5S revealed the latest -- and in its words the most "forward-looking" -- version of the iPhone. The iPhone 5S was the first phone to have a 64-bit processor, dubbed Apple A7.

One of its major additions was a fingerprint recognition sensor in the home button called "Touch ID," which unlocks the phone. The 5S camera also received some improvements. It includes a new image sensor, a burst mode feature (which allows the user to snap 10 pictures in one second), a dual-LED flash and panorama photos that go up to 28 megapixels.

The iPhone 5S was released on Sept. 10, 2013 in three different colors: gray, gold and silver.

Released at the same time as the iPhone 5S, the iPhone 5C is a low-cost version made of soft silicon rubber instead of anodized aluminum. It has the same dimensions as the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5S, but includes an A6 chip with a slightly bigger battery than the iPhone 5.

Other improvements included a new Facetime HD camera and an iSight camera with 3x video zoom.

The iPhone 5C was released on Sept. 10, 2013 in five different colors: blue, green, yellow, pink and white. The starting price for a 16 GB model is $99 and $199 for a 32 GB model.

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